Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail - Hiro Mashima does.
"Rogue's going to melt."
"AHH!" Startled, Lucy almost fell down the bar stool. She quickly regained composure before clearing her throat. "God! You're going to give me a heart attack, you bastard!"
"Am I? Or you're going to have a heart attack from staring too much." Sting calmly took the seat next to the celestial mage, resting his chin on his arm. "Ow!"
The blond man flinched as Lucy smacked him at the back of his head. "Shut up, Sting. Don't get wrong ideas." She proceeded to drink her smoothie. "I… I'm just going to miss you—miss all of you." A small smile appeared, though her eyes are locked on her hands.
There was a pause before Lucy harshly groaned. Sting flicked Lucy without so much effort, he wondered if he was really hurt or was just complaining for the sake of it.
"You're so silly! It isn't like you're going to leave us permanently. I know Rogue already told you this, but as Sabertooth's master, I officially declare that Lucy Heartfilia of Fairy Tail can come and visit us anytime!" Sting declared with so much conviction that Lucy was moved. His grin was returned.
"Yes, thank you."
Some moments passed and no one was saying anything between them. For once, without anyone knocking him out, Sting was quiet—too quiet.
The blonde celestial mage narrowed her eyes at him suspiciously, "Spill. What did you do?"
"Ha-What?! What are you s-saying?!" The man's body language screamed of tense that he actually stood up from his seat, covering his mouth.
"You're too quiet, Sting. Suspiciously so. What did you do this time?"
"Hey! Just because I'm being quiet doesn't mean I did something!"
Lucy lazily looked at him, "…Do you really want me to answer that?"
The man opened his mouth, only to close again. Embarrassed, Sting scratched his cheek. "On second thought, no. Don't."
Lucy merely raised an eyebrow, before taking another sip. It was so unlike her, and she knows that it's her last day in Sabertooth—she'll be able to go back to her family tomorrow. Still, she felt sad to leave a group she came to accept as her family, even in such a short period of time.
Looking at the Shadow Dragon Slayer, she felt her chest tighten and pound faster—louder. 'No… This is… nothing. It's nothing. Kiara may have added too much in the coffee earlier.' Clearing her throat, she shook her head and looked for something else—anything else to focus on. Just not him.
Unbeknownst to Lucy, the blond man beside her was watching her with scrutinizing eyes. Seeing her bothered, or blushing for that matter, Sting followed Lucy's gaze—only to see the raven haired guy at the end. Bringing his eyes back to her, Sting smiled sadly for a moment—disappearing before anyone else could see.
"Mind if I ask something?"
Still staring at her milkshake, Lucy nodded. "Shoot."
Sting inhaled deeply, "…I have this friend and he was asking for my advice. I don't really know what to say so I'll ask you. If you have a friend and you like him… will you confess? You don't really know if they like you—well, you know that you don't have a chance."
Lucy whipped her head towards Sting's direction. She teased him, smirking mischievously, "Hoho! Is my Sting-y in love?" The blonde mage even started wiggling her brows.
Blushing, Sting fervently denied. "NO!" His outburst attracted a lot of unwanted attention from surrounding guild members, especially their team. Sheepishly, he scratched the back of his head, before clearing his throat. "N-no. It's for a friend, okay? Friend!"
Lucy sent another teasing smile to him, feeling triumphant, "Okay, friend." Bringing up a finger to her cheek, she paused before adding, "I would still tell him that I like him—regardless if I have a chance or not. It's better to be honest to him, and to myself, than to live my life drowning in regrets and what-ifs."
Seemingly shocked, the man questioned, "Aren't you afraid that what you have with him may be broken? Aren't you afraid to lose your friendship?"
"Of course I'm afraid! But thinking that I may live my life thinking of all that could have been. I think I'd prefer that—though all of these are just from my personal opinion."
"…Hm. I get your point."
"So… tell your friend to shoot his chance—his friend may be waiting for him."
There was another pause before Lucy broke the silence. With another teasing smile, she questioned Sting, "So, aren't you going to tell me who's that girl?"
Going red all over, Sting denied everything once again. "NO! I told you. It's for a friend!"
Lucy's teasing smile never left, even as she took a sip. "…Sure."
After the entertaining encounter with Sting, Lucy found herself surrounded by the Sabertooth guild members, from those she was close with to those she only knew but never gotten close with. They took turns sharing stories, cracking jokes, and drinking beers. Everyone was having a good time, eager to make the most out of the day.
"Do you want another glass, Lucy?"
"No, thanks. I think I'm going to pass today's episode of drunk Lucy. I've been drinking too much for the past days anyway." The blonde girl waved her hand in defense, she wasn't really that delighted about the coming headaches she was sure to have.
"Fro thinks so, too!" The adorable exceed chimed in agreement, receiving a pat on the head from the Fairy.
"You're awfully quiet today, Rogue. Is there something on your mind?" A teasing tone laced Minerva's words as she attempts to make the said man talk.
Rogue looked at her in a stoic manner, "I'm always quiet, Minerva."
This earned a knowing giggle from her, "Yeah." Minerva paused for a moment before leaning towards Lucy. A smile graced her lips as she whisper to her.
Rogue wasn't the curious type, but that damn smile on Minerva's face, coupled with the way she kept on looking at her with a twinkle of mischief on her eyes told him to keep his guard up. This wasn't going to end well for him, that's for sure.
To add cherry on top, Lucy blushed—she looked as if she was glowing, in red that is. This further pushed Rogue to just stay away from whatever Minerva was planning. Rogue coughed and diverted his attention to the mug of booze in front of him.
It was nearing dinner time, Sting called every Sabertooth member to be present for the dinner celebration for Lucy. Even if the sun has already set, the guildhall was still buzzing with laughter.
"Memory serves to be a huge asset on throwing Sting's ass to the bin."
"HAHAHA! You… HAHAHA!" Orga's booming laughter overpowered them as Rufus showed afterimages of Sting's misfortunes.
Said man glared at them before pouncing on Rufus. "RUFUS!" However, before he could even land a finger on him, Sting was thrown to the other side of the hall—courtesy of Minerva's spatial magic.
Lector flew towards his master, putting a paw on his head, "That's alright, Sting. You're still the best!" The man's eye twitched instead.
After hours of partying, the guild members went home, leaving its core members in the guildhall. They enjoyed bottles after bottles of drinks, and finger foods prepared by Kiana; they enjoyed the remainder of the night in a much mellow way.
Clearly drunk beyond comprehension, Rufus led Minerva to her room. Orga was left under the table; no one dared to carry the huge man in their drunken states. Though Lucy remained sober, she doubt she can even move him—even an inch.
Rogue had quite a few drinks, but unlike Sting who was way beyond his limit. He inched closer to Lucy in an attempt to make a conversation; after all, they were the only ones not yet down for the count.
"Did you have fun?"
The blonde took a sip before answering, "Yes, I did." She turned to fully face him, giving a warm smile, "You guys—you weren't the Sabertooth I knew during the Grand Magic Games. It's funny to think that I was worried, even scared, to go here when I learned about the whole exchange mage thing."
Finding it funny, he nodded. "I understand your concern back then. If I were in your shoes, I think I'd refuse to even step foot in this guild." The two shared a laugh, clicking their glasses together.
"If it's any consolation, I think the morning service was commendable." Lucy teased in a sing-song voice.
Rogue wheeled himself to not think of anything inappropriate with how Lucy worded it. He coughed, attempting to regain composure. "Service?"
Sensing that something was wrong, she paused for a moment, turning bright red upon realization. "N-no! I didn't mean it like that! T-the cookies… I was talking about the cookies!" Really, she only took some sip of alcohol, yet it's already messing her up.
The blonde stopped from berating herself when she heard a deep chuckle beside her. Looking at his face, she can't help but to smile.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
'What… why is my heart beating like drums? I-It must be the alcohol. Yes, yes.' Lucy forced herself to look away from the man, pinching herself in the process.
"I…I'm going back to my room." Lucy stood up and walked away; however, she stopped midway, and looked over her shoulder, "Goodnight, Rogue."
It was soft, but she can't be mistaken—Rogue wished her a goodnight, too. She knew she heard right; after all, the guildhall wasn't supposed to be raining with roses… right?
Lucy walked back to her room absentmindedly, 'Even if I dreamed of having a boyfriend; ranking potential guys, and mistaking Natsu and Gray's actions courtesy of Mira… they were just silly crushes. But Rogue… Rogue's the only guy who confuses me this much.'
Shutting the door, the blonde fairy sighed again, 'What are you doing to me, Rogue?'
[A/N]: Two updates in a month, HUWAAAAT? HAHAHA It's a record for me. Anyway, please keep safe! x
